22 December 2009 6:10 PMPosted by Tom Phillips

Continuing our rundown of what was hot on the interweb this year, as chosen by a group of so-called 'experts' in a so-called 'pub', we look at the trends that defined the year without becoming too annoying.

3) The Anomalies' Terminator 2 Rap
Our old favourites The Anomalies, summarising the plot of Terminator 2 through the medium of hip-hop in a nine-minute spectacular. Superb gag at the end, too.

4) David After Dentist
A woozy boy still dopy from his dental anaesthetic, having the cutest trip ever = endlessly remixed viral video gold.

5) ArcAttack play Doctor Who
A man in a chain-mail suit plays the Doctor Who theme tune by conducting gigantic electric arcs coming from two massive Tesla coils (courtesy of ArcAttack, specialists in making Tesla coils play music). Amazing.

21 December 2009 9:49 AMPosted by Tom Phillips

It's list time! Last week, in a secret location in London (i.e. a pub), a gaggle of experts in online culture (i.e. people who spend too much time on the internet) gathered to thrash out the issue of Internet's Best Things of 2009. Today, it's the best websites:

1) Kemp Folds
Take a picture of television hard-man Ross Kemp's big round face. Fold it. You have now produced a Kemp Fold, and can contribute it to the simplest, funniest blog of the year.

2) TED
The best brain food on the web, videos of lectures from some of the smartest minds around - all for free, ideal for those who can't afford the £27gazillion (approximate figure) it costs to go to the actual events.

3) B3ta
The venerable British-based 'puerile digital arts community' is still the home of some of the funniest, most creative and most unfairly talented people around.

5) GeoCities
The place that was so many people's first home online was finally killed off this year, leaving several million animated GIFs homeless. Goodbye, old friend - and at least we'vegotthe archives to remember you by.

22 November 2009 4:49 PMPosted by Tom Phillips

As 2009 toddles towards its inevitable conclusion, every journalist in the country is busy preparing a list of the year's highlights, and we're no different. Except we're pretty lazy, so we want you to help.

We're looking for your nominations for the best of the internet 2009. We'll read every nomination, and then the final list will be selected by a panel of expert judges (ideally down the pub.)

Best non-specific thing
Because the best things rarely fall into neat categories, tell us your favourite webby thing that isn't a video, a website or a web trend here. Suggestions: Official King of TwitterStephen Fry, mob rule, Keyboard Cat.

Worst thing on the internet
Amid all this love, let's bring a little hate - what's the worst thing on the web? Suggestions: Keyboard Cat.

4. SpotifyWhile a gazillion online music services launched in 2008, Spotify is the one we just fell in love with. Instant, seamless streaming music from a huge library, that lets you share tracks with friends, collaborate on playlists, and more. And best of all, it’s free (there’s also a subscription option).

It’s invite-only right now - but they’ve kindly given us a bunch of invites for Metro readers. It's on a first come, first served basis (and limited to UK users only) so you'll need to be quick.The invites have now gone - sorry. If you still really, really want one, leave a comment below with a valid email address, and we'll see what we can do. No promises, mind...

2. The Big PictureEasily the blog of the year, Alan Taylor’s photoblog for the Boston Globe is stunningly simple - posting newsworthy photographs at a huge size. But it’s Taylor’s eye for the beautiful or shocking image that makes it such a must-read. Still doubtful? Check out his picturesof theyear, or especially the incredible posts on the Sun and the Antarctic.

1. Mars PhoenixIn the year that WALL-E enchanted cinema audiences, the real-life adventures of a robot alone on a desolate planet captured the hearts of internet users. The Mars Phoenix lander’s first-person online updates - on Twitter and for Gizmodo - talked about its work, answered questions, and announced major scientific discoveries on Twitter before they broke anywhere else. Actually the work of NASA news officer Veronica McGregor, the jokey, engaging tone made people quickly fall in love with the little enthusiastic robot. And as it slowly froze to death in the long Martian winter, millions of miles from home, its final messages - ‘Take care of that beautiful blue marble out there in space, our home planet. I’ll be keeping an eye from here’ - left more than a few people in tears.

21 December 2008 1:03 PMPosted by Tom Phillips

It's not a proper year until everyone's made a list. As such, here's the first five entires in our round-up of the ten best people, sites, services, memes, videos and general stuff on the internet in 2008:

10. Twitter For a while, it looked like 2008 might be the year Twitter died prematurely, collapsing under its own success. But by the end, it had confirmed its status as the online hangout of choice - a perfect hybrid of social networking, instant messenger, texting and blogging.

8. Warren Ellis Top British comics writer and novelist, Warren Ellis is one of the most inimitable voices online - from the excellent web comic FreakAngels, to the mindbleach-requiring pictures* on his blog, or his habit of prowling around Twitter demanding Red Bull and 'human bacon'.

*Not safe for work, obviousy.

7. Literal video The re-dubbed 'literal video' version of A-ha's 'Take On Me' that simply described what happened in the classic video ('Pipe wrench fight!') was a slice of pure comedy perfection. Later iterations took on Tears For Fears and (naturally) Rick Astley, but the first remains the best.